Call of Duty: Black Ops II to be released on Wii U

The only next generation console announced yet is the Nintendo Wii U. Now, armed with a release date and a couple of launch titles along with some exclusives, the console is all set to receive announcements of the games that will make it to the Wii U. According to Joystiq, Activision has announced that the Wii U will be getting a port of its upcoming first person shooter (FPS), Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

The Wii U version of the game will be making full use of the system’s innovative controller, giving players the ability to check the minimap, activate kill streaks and change loadouts mid-game. Another big use of the controller will be that two people can play on the same system without having to play split-screen, with one person playing on the TV and the other playing on the controller. A solo player can also play only on the controller, allowing friends or family to do whatever they want with the TV.

The future is all set to be black on the Wii U

Black Ops 2 got a trailer that showed off the multiplayer back in August. While the basics don’t seem to have changed much from Black Ops or Modern Warfare 3 with the constant action and rewards for doing almost anything, there are some interesting things such as some of the sci-fi stuff in the game, counting mechs and what appear to be EMP grenades.

Earlier, Activision released a new trailer for Black Ops II. In the trailer, Raul Menendez is idolised as the Messiah of the people, yet underneath the surface lurks an insidious mastermind hell-bent on global insurrection. The game was announced earlier this year. While Black Ops II looks like any earlier Call of Duty game, it’s interesting to see that Treyarch have now added a bit of open-endedness into it. This doesn’t mean the franchise is now in open world territory; it means that players will have a choice in undertaking certain missions and the story will then play out depending on the choices they made. At the same time, these choices may also affect the fate of some of their squad mates.

The previous game in the Call of Duty series was Modern Warfare 3, which was released last year. While gameplay stayed very much the same as previous iterations, the stakes had been raised significantly, as the game’s protagonists had to deal with the looming threat of World War III. If you have played previous CoD games, specifically the Modern Warfare series, Modern Warfare 3 will be familiar territory with non-stop balls-to-the-wall action and cinematic set-pieces.

The Call of Duty series originally dealt with events during World War II. After the unsuccessful Call of Duty 3, developers Infinity Ward shook things up by making Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This game saw a large amount of success and sealed the fate of World War II based shooters.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is set to release on 12 November 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and eventually the Wii U.